GSP moves into hotel to prepare for fight

By NEIL DAVIDSON The Canadian PressPublished November 16, 2012 - 5:10am Last Updated November 16, 2012 - 7:36am

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MONTREAL — Georges St-Pierre may be fighting at home this weekend but he’s not sleeping in his own bed.

The UFC welterweight champion has moved into a hotel, leaving the comforts of home ahead of Saturday night’s UFC 154 main event with interim title-holder Carlos (Natural Born Killer) Condit at the Bell Centre.

He wants no part of the hometown feeling, other than to have friends and family in the stands.

“I want to feel like it’s another fight, like normal,” he said.

The move has cut into his privacy. Fans in the lobby have pretty much restricted his ability to leave his hotel room. But that plays into another priority ahead of the fight.

“At this time I try to isolate myself, not get sick — not catch any cold or stuff like that. Stay very focused on the main goal,” St-Pierre told reporters.

The fight is the first for St-Pierre (22-2) since April 2011 when he beat Jake Shields. He underwent reconstructive surgery after injuring his knee in training last fall.

Condit (28-5) defeated Nick Diaz in February to claim the interim title during St-Pierre’s injury layoff.

After today’s weigh-in, when he has to make 170 pounds, St-Pierre’s immediate plan is to “eat and drink.” An ice cream is high on his priority list.

Both main event fighters attended a public workout at a local nightclub Thursday, although St-Pierre did little other than sign autographs and give fans some training gear.

He says his training is done for the fight so it makes no sense having a session just for show. Using golf as a metaphor, he says he has already hit the ball. It’s in the air and he can’t influence it any more.

“Even if I were to do 100 push-ups, I’m not going to get any stronger,” he said.

“So it’s all in the mind. My training is done.

“There is nothing I can do to be stronger, sharper, better than I am. The only thing I can change is my mind, so I try to stay positive and enjoy every second of it. Even though there is a lot of stress.”